A typical ballast provides regulated power to a lamp. Low pressure and high pressure discharge lamps, such as fluorescent lamps and sodium-based lamps, use a ballast to provide the proper starting voltage for the lamp and to limit the operating current once the lamp is ignited. Generally, a ballast is configured to provide appropriate and consistent power to the lamp(s) connected thereto. However, there are fault conditions that may occur in a lighting system, during which the continued supply of power to the lamps is undesirable and potentially dangerous. For example, during the end of life (EOL) stage of a fluorescent lamp, the lamp's end caps may overheat due to a depletion of an emission mix in the filament and due to the small spacing between the cathode and lamp wall. When this occurs, one or both of the lamp's end caps may exceed a design temperature limit and detrimentally affect the reliability of the lamp. These conditions may cause the lamp to crack. Another fault condition associated with the lamp is an arcing condition. This occurs when a small gap persists between the lamp's end caps and the socket in which the lamp is located. Arcing can lead to fire and other injuries.